My dog is biting a red, thinning patch on his back. What could it be?

Hello. Bingo may have a parasitic problem ( fleas, mange mites ), severe allergies, or a significant skin infection. Remove any collars he may be wearing, especially a flea & tick one, & bathe him in cool water using an oatmeal based shampoo like Aveeno. Leave the shampoo on for 10 minutes before rinsing ). Dry him & then contact your veterinarian at your earliest convenience to see what the underlying cause of his skin issues are. Hem may need additional treatment(s) such as a medicated shampoo, or antibiotics, or another medication to clear things up & keep his skin &

I recommend taking Bert to a veterinarian. This can be allergies or there may be an infection on his skin. He also may have fleas, which can make them very itchy and bite a lot. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Bert feels better soon.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Skin issues like you are describing can have a variety of causes, including skin parasites (fleas or mites), allergies, an infection, or an underlying medical issue (Cushings disease, diabetes). I would recommend he be evaluated by his regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for his skin lesions, have any necessary testing done (bloodwork, skin scrape, culture) and start on any treatment that he may need. Good luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that Bingo is having this problem. Hair loss and a darkening of the skin are often signs of dermatitis or inflammation/infection of the skin in that area. Not sure where the area is from the pictures. Reasons for this include external parasites (fleas, ticks, mites), allergies, thyroid problems, bacterial infections, etc. The best option is to take Bingo to your veterinarian and let them evaluate him. They can either advise treatment at that point or advise some skin tests (skin scrape, fungal culture, Woods lamp exam, etc) to determine the cause. The location of the area is important as well as what is noticed upon examining the area. Good luck with Bingo and I hope this gives you some direction to getting him over this.